Pet books we like...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pumpkin-Oat Pancakes...

Jeff's niece graduated high school this year and has jumped right into college - we thought that one of the items we could give her to celebrate all the new happenings in her life is a new baked good every month while she is at school! I don't think I mentioned it last month, but we made those reliable Outrageous Oreo Crunch Brownies and this month we sent off a hefty package of Jeff's favorite Chocolate Malted M&M Cookies. Although, this time we used those spooky Halloween M&Ms! I haven't nailed down next month's treat, but I have a few ideas in mind!

I took some time yesterday for the annual roasting of a bunch of sugar pumpkins - I do this to harvest the fantastic orange flesh to freeze for pumpkin goodies throughout the year! Before stashing it away, I saved a bit of the fresh mash to make these Pumpkin-Oat Pancakes with Crystallized Ginger for a breakfast-for-dinner night this evening.

I used a combination of dry ingredients to create pancakes that were still fairly light, yet sneaked in a few good nutrients. I mixed things up with all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour and a bit of finely ground old-fashioned rolled oats to add a hearty factor. If you prefer not to use those ingredients, just use completely all-purpose flour instead. To infuse the fragrant aroma of fall into these pancakes, I spiced up those dry ingredients with our favorite Vietnamese cinnamon, allspice, ginger and a pinch of cardamom for its racy attitude.

Since we love the sweet heat of crystallized ginger, and besides the fact that it goes tremendously well with pumpkin, I also tossed a small handful into the mix. This batter is more viscous than typical pancakes, a bit akin towards waffle batter, but don't try to thin it out - just spread the batter out with a spoon or spatula, if desired, once it hits the griddle. The pancakes cook up pretty thick with a healthy weight to them, but they are not dense and gummy either. With just a few tablespoons of brown sugar to enhance the pure pumpkin essence, these pancakes are not too sweet, making them a perfect candidate for a generous helping of warmed pure maple syrup at serving.

I love your idea of a treat a month. I gave my niece postcards to mail to me that said "I need cookies". I haven't gotten one back from her yet - maybe I should be proactive? ;0thanks for the great recipes and idea!